The present invention relates to a pipe which produces an aerosol that resembles tobacco smoke and which preferably contains no more than a minimal amount of incomplete combustion or pyrolysis products.
Many pipe-type smoking articles have been proposed through the years, especially over the last 20 to 30 years. However, none has had any apparent consumer acceptance.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,347,855 to Lanzillotti et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,391,285 to Burnett et al. each describe pipe-type smoking articles which use an extruded tobacco containing material for the generation of an aerosol.
Similarly, Steiner, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,474,191 describes "smoking devices" including pipe embodiments (see, FIGS. 1-4 and 11-13), which contain an air-intake channel which is generally isolated from the combustion chamber by a fire resistant wall. In the Steiner devices, the fuel is separated from the aerosol generating material by a conductive wall. To assist in the lighting of the device, Steiner may provide means for allowing the brief, temporary passage of air between the combustion chamber and the air-intake channel.
However, despite decades of interest and effort, there is still no pipe-type smoking article on the market which provides the benefits and advantages associated with conventional pipe smoking, without delivering considerable quantities of incomplete combustion and pyrolysis products.